1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of forming metal alloy parts from the alloy metal components and/or compounds containing the metal alloy components and the molding composition therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Parts have been formed from alloys of metals in the prior art in several ways. One way is to obtain a block of the alloy metal and then machine the part to the desired shape and dimension. The procedure is obviously costly in that the cost of the final part is dependent upon the number of machine steps required as well as the degree of precision required in the ultimate part. Therefore, as the degree of part complexity increases, the cost of the final part will also increase. In addition, all alloy material which does not result as a portion of the final part becomes scrap and is wasted. A further system of the prior art has been to utilize particles of the alloy material and then provide the final part by conventional press and sinter powder metallurgy techniques. These procedures have provided unsatisfactory results due to their inferior properties. It has also been found that attempts to form parts either from powders of alloys or from powders of the metals themselves which make up the targeted alloy in the appropriate proportions have provided inferior properties due to the oxide formation on the surfaces of the particles which tend to inhibit the sintering operation. It is therefore desirable that a method be provided whereby precision parts can be formed from metal alloys which have all the benefits of the prior art machined parts as well as additional benefits of improved part structure integrity and reduction in cost of the final part.